Man Bites Dog (1992)

This controversial Belgian comedy drama is a sometimes shockingly violent yet effective satire on the complicity and often culpability of the media in our desensitisation to violence.

One of the blackest comedies you’ll ever see, “Man Bites Dog” will have you laughing at scenes you probably shouldn’t be laughing at; exactly the intentions of writer/directors Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde.

An extraordinarily good and highly original film.

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You can find more information on this French-language movie on Wikipedia and IMDb.

As always, we recommend you don’t ruin any surprises by reading spoilers or watching this trailer:

I love this one. If you will forgive the intrusion, here is my own short review, from some time ago.

Man Bites Dog. Years before the common theme of ‘fly on the wall’ film-making became popular, this 1992 film from Belgium came as a sharp satire on the whole idea of reality TV, and documentary films. A film crew decide to shadow the ‘work’ of a mundane serial killer. They go everywhere with him, and film his ramblings, as well as his frequent, and often very violent murders. Their involvement with him begins to spiral out of control, as they sink ever deeper into his dark world. This is not a comfortable subject, nor is it filmed sympathetically. However, as an idea, and as the film shows, it just works.